A common but flawed argument against developing more renewable energy is that the cost would be greater than any benefit.
Many business managers made the same argument 30 years ago when personal computers made their debut. They feared it would be too expensive to buy all their office employees computers, train them and change from paper to electronic files.
Many companies were slow to change because of that mind-set, but they did change, and now who could imagine going to work at a competitive business and using a typewriter, with or without correction tape?
The generation at the starting point of any major change always has to absorb some cost. There is really no other way, because progress is a force that cannot, even by naysayers, be stopped once it starts. But real progress — along with patience — always brings rewards, such as the millions of jobs created by personal computers.
Today renewable energy is the major change facing all of us. Its rise is inevitable, despite the initial costs. We welcome this change and support its rapid advance. Instead of fearing the cost, we look ahead — and not just to the distant future when air and water will be cleaner and our imports of oil from countries that despise us will be greatly reduced. We see renewable energy changing our state and country for the better — right now.
At this week’s National Clean Energy Summit, held at UNLV, speaker after speaker told of the economic benefits being seen. Jobs are being created here and across the country as the renewables industry becomes more robust. And USA Today this week wrote about how the cost of solar energy is dropping as more utilities invest in it.
With an assist from the federal government in the form of a long-term extension of tax credits for renewable energy companies, this change from polluting to clean energy will take place even faster than it is now. We need not fear it.
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